Suspension device for a sealed rolling door and the applications thereof



Nov. 26, 1968 STERNE 3,412,507

SUSP G DOOR AND ENSION D C 0R A SEALE 0L E APPLICATIONS THEREO FlledFeb. 6, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 26, 1968 E, sTl-:RNER 3,412,507SUSPENSION DEVICE FOR A SEALED ROLLING DOOR AND THE APPLICATIONS THEREOFFiled Feb. e, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 26, 1968 B. STERNER SUSPENSIONDEVICE 3,412,507 FOR A SEALED ROLLING DOOR AND THE APPLICATIONS TH FiledFeb. 6, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent O 12 Claims. icl.49-212) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A suspension device for suspending asealed rolling door from a wall, in particular for a cold store, thesuspension device being such as to move the door away from the wall andoiT the sill of the door opening for rolling the door along a rail whichis connected to the wall by the suspension device.

The present invention relates to suspension devices for seaied slidingor rolling doors `for example intended for equipping cold stores.

The sealed rolling doors of the type employed in cold stores are usuallyplaced laterally alongside the outer face of the wall and in the closedposition are applied against the frame and the sill, sealing elementsbeing interposed for affording a correct seal. To open the door, it istherefore first necessary to move it away from the frame and raise itsuch distance as to be in a position to roll it along the wall to itsopen position. In a known device, the door is suspended and is slidableor rollable on a fixed rail by means of rollers. Interposed betweenthese rollers and the door is a pivot device comprising an eccentricwhereby by the rotation thereof, it is possible to raise the door andmove it away from the frame. This device has many drawbacks. Inparticular, it produces an additional clearance between the rail and thedoor which can result in considerable movements in the lower part of thedoor. Moreover, to move the eccentric requires the provision of alinkage which must be connected to the door, since the pivot devicemoves with the latter. Further, in order to be also movable from within,which is essential, this 4linkage must necessarily extend through thedoor. The shifting means placed on the inner face of the door must beembedded in the thickness of the latter so that it does not protrude andprevent the sliding or rolling of the door when opening. Consequently,the construction of the door is complica-ted and its cost priceincreased.

Furthermore, in the case of a semi-automatic or automatic control (forexample pneumatic) of the pivot device, the fact that this pivot devicemoves with the door requires the provision of flexible pipes andconduits having such length as to be capable of following `the movementof the door when opening and closing the latter. This is unsightly,impracticable and even dangerous since t-hese conduits can be jammed andharmed.

The object of the invention is to provide a device which avoids thesedrawbacks.

The suspension device according to the invention for a rolling-sealeddoor, in particular for a cold store, comprises an element fixedrelative to the wall, a mount which is pivoted to said element so as tobe movable in a direction parallel to itself in such manner that allpoints thereof remain in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the wall,a door guide rail secured to the mount, an overcenter deviceinterconnecting the element and the mount which maintains in oneposition the mount relative to the element in an operating position inwhich the door is rollable along the wall on the guide rail.

3,412,507 Patented Nov. 26, 1968 "ice Further features and advantages ofthe invention will be apparent from the ensuing description withreference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are side elevational views partly in section, of a deviceaccording to the invention in two positions corresponding respectively-to the closed position and to the rolling position of the door;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, with parts cut away, of a sealed doorprovided with the device according to `the invention;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a slight modification of the deviceaccording to the invention, and

FIGS. 6-8 are views of an accessory mechanism which completes thesuspension and shifting device of the sealed door shown in FIG. 5.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4, the suspension device according tothe invention is mounted on a sealed rolling or sliding door P which isintended for example for a cold store and shown in perspective in FIG.4.

In the closed position thereof, the door P is applied against a frame D,sealing elements J providing a seal between the door and the frame andbetween the door and the sill S. The device according to the inventionmounted between the door and the wall M will be described in detail withreference to FIGS. 1-3.

T-his device comprises a lsupport element 1 which is fixed relative tothe wall M and a movable mount 2 which is pivoted to the element bymeans of four pairs links such as 3-4, having pivot pins 5-6.

A toggle device 7 is provided between the element 1 and the mount 2. Thearms 8-9 of this toggle device are constituted by forks 8a, 8b and 9a,9b respectively (FIG. 3).

The arm 8 is rigid with a hexagonal bar 10 resting in bearings 11-12 andcomprises an abutment face 8c adapted to co-operate with an abutment 1cprovided on the element 1. The arm 9 is pivotable about a pivot pin 13rigid with the mount 2. The arms 8 and 9 are pivoted together by pivotpin 14.

In t-he illustrated embodiment, the actuating mechanism issemi-automatic and comprises a double-acting pneumatic jack 15 having acontrol rod 16 whose head 17 is pivoted to the mid-part of the pin 14.The jack 15 is secured in its lower part to the element 1 by a pin 18and is fed by way of two conduits 19-20.

Secured to the movable mount by screws 21 is a rail 22 having a V-shapedrolling 4face 23.

The |door P is rollably mounted on the rail by means of rollers 24 towhich it is connected by members 25-26- 27. A screwthreaded rod 28 andnuts and lock-nuts 29- 30-31 serve to adjust the 4position of the doorin height.

FIG. 4 shows diagrammatically an assembly of a suspension device for acold store door P controlled semiautomatically. In this assembly, therail 22 along which the door rolls, is secured to three `devices A1, A2,A3 such as that described hereinbefore. The devices A1 and A2 areprovided with an actuating jack whereas the third device A3 is merelycontrolled by the hexagonal bar 10.

The jacks are connected to a source of compressed air (not shown) by wayof conduits 32, 33, 34, 19 and 20 an'd a cock 35 provided with twocontrol knobs 3'6 and 37 respectively located on the outer and innerfaces of the wall M.

The door P also has an outer handle 38 and a cavity 39 whereby it ispossible to roll the door from within.

The operation of the device according to the invention is particularlysimple. Let it be assumed that the door is 3 in the closed position(FIGS. 1 and 4) and applied in a sealed manner against the frame J andthe sill S.

To open the door, it is first necessary to move it away from the `frameand raise it so that it can be rolled along the Wall M. For thispurpose, one of the control cocks for the jack is operated so as tosupply the compressed fluid to the conduit 19 and raise the piston (notshown) and the rod 16 (FIG. 1).

The toggle device 7 opens `and the mount 2 supporting the rail 22 andthe door moves in a 'direction parallel to the door until it reaches theposition shown in FIG. 2 in which the part 8c of the arm 8 abuts theabutment 1c provided on the element 1.

In the initial position (FIG. 1), the links are inclined at `about 30 tothe vertical and the path of the mount, and consequently of the door, isan arc of a circle of about 30 so that at the start of the travel thedoor moves away from the frame quicker than it rises whereas at the endof the travel the reverse effect occurs.

In this position, the toggle device has slightly passed through thedead-center position in which the arms 8 and 9 are in Ithe extensions ofeach other. The pivot device interconnecting the mount 2 and the element1 therefore automatically locks the mount 2 in this position since thepivot 14 of the toggle device tends to move upwardly but this isrendered impossible by the abutment of the arm 8 against the element 1.Consequently, in this position, the rod 16 of the jack no longersupports any force.

The door can now be easily shifted and rolled laterally along the rail22 to its open position.

To close the door, it is sutlicient to roll it in the opposite directionuntil it assumes the correct closed position. For this, the compressedair control is actuated so as to supply uid to the conduit 20 of thejack 1S. The rod 16 moves dow-nwardly and 'this causes the toggle deviceto pass through its dead-center position and return the door to theposition in which it is in contact with the frame and the sill.

In the structure shown diagrammatically in FIG. 4, only the devices A1land A2 are provided with control jacks since it is they which supportthe forces when the mounts 2, the rail 22 and the door P are moved whenopening and closing the door.

The device A3 is mechanically connected to the two other devices A1 andA2 by the hexagonal bar 10 so as to ensure the correct positioning ofthe toggle 'device of the device A3 in the locking positioncorresponding to the position for shifting the door, and in the courseof the unlocking of the toggle device for closing the door.

FIG. 4, although diagrammatic, clearly shows one of the essentialadvantages of the device according to the invention, namely the factthat the pivot, guiding and control assembly constitutes an independentunit on which doors of any thickness can be adapted. Moreover, thesedoors no longer carry the control and shifting mechanisms and deviceswhich are particularly simple in construction and cheap. Thesemechanisms or devices are xed relative to the wall and this alsosimplifies the mounting and utilization thereof.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. l-4, a semi-automatic control devicehas been chosen, only the movements in a plane perpendicular to the wallbeing produced by a pneumatic jack. It will be understood that anadditional jack 40 could be provided (FIGS. 5 and 6) which rolls thedoor along the wall in both directions, this jack being for exampleplaced on the rail 22 and aeting on one of the elements 27.

A purely mechanical control mechanism may also be employed which acts onthe hexagonal bar 10 so as to y FIGS. 6 8 show a mechanism for openingthe door from inside the enclosure in the case of a mechanical controlor, by way of safety, if the pneumatic actuating device has broken down.

This mechanism comprises a lever device 41 placed on the inner face ofthe doo-r (FIGS. 7 and 8) and comprising in the presently-describedembodiment a vertical metal upright 42 pivoted by links 43 to the door Pand an arm 44 also -pivoted to the upright 42 and the door. In theposition of rest, the assembly is placed against the door so as not tohinder the rolling of the latter. To open the door from within, the arm44 is lowered, the upright 42 bears against the ground and the doorrises and moves away from the frame so as to assume the position shownin dot-dash line in FIG. `7.

This mechanism raises the door to a certain extent but does not causethe toggle devices 7 to pass through to the dead-center positionthereof. This is the reason why a torsion spring 45 is provided (FIG. 6)having one end 45a connected to an element 46 secured to the wall andthe other end 45h connected to the hexagonal bar 10. This torsion springprovides at the end of the -opening travel of the door the additionaltorque necessary for passing through the dead-center position andplacing the door in the rolling position. It will be understood that anyother suitable lever device and return device could be provided foreffecting this operation.

Further, in order to improve the distribution and application of theforces when closing, there could be provided as shown in FIG. 5, a mount2 which comprises in its lower part an extension 2a provided with arubber buffer 2b. This part of the amount co-operaftes with -a branch47a of a bracket 47 whose other branch 47b is fixed to the door P.

In the course of the downward and closing travel of the door, the forcesare in this way directly transmitted from the mount 2 to the door by theabutment of the part 2a, 2b of the mount against the branch 47a of thebracket 47. This avoids the transmission of excessive forces through therail 22, the rollers 24 and the elements supporting the door and inparticular avoids the abutment, during the whole of the lowering stageof the upper part of the rollers 24 against the upper flange of the rail22. However, this abutment occurs solely at the end of travel when thedoor is practically in its closed position.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described, manymodifications and changes may be made therein without departing from thescope of the invention as dened in the appended claims.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for suspending a sealed rolling door from a wall relative towhich the door is rollable, said device comprising an element fixedrelative to the wall, a mount, means for pivoting said mount to saidelement so that said mount is movable in a direction parallel to itselfin such manner that all points thereof remain in a vertical planeperpendicular to the plane of the wall, a door guide rail secured to themount, an over-center device interconnecting the element and the mountand having two stable positions on opposite sides of a dead-centerposition, a rst stable position in which the door is applied against theWall in a closed position and a second stable position in which saidover-center device maintains the mount relative to the element in anoperating position in which the door is rollable along the wall on theguide rail and an actuating mechanism for shifting said over-centerdevice from one of said two stable positions to the other over saiddead-center position.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means are links whichpivot the mount to said element.

3. A device for suspending a sealed rolling door from a wall relative towhich the door is rollable, said device comprising an element xedrelative to the wall, a mo-unt,

links for pivoting said mount to said element, a door guide rail securedto the mount, an over-center mechanism interconnecting the element andthe mount and having two stable positions on opposite sides of adeadcenter position, a first stable position in which the door isapplied against the wall in a closed position and a second stableposition in which said over-center device maintains the mount relativeto the element in an operating position in which the door is rollablealong the wall on the guide rail, said over-center device comprising atoggle device having one arm pivoted to the element and another armpivoted to the mount and a pivot pin interconnecting the arms, the armpivoted to said element comprising an abutment face which is co-operablewith a corresponding abutment face on said element so as to maintain thetoggle device in said second stable position corresponding to thelocking of the pivotal connection, an an actuating mechanism forshifting said overcenter device from one of said two stable positions tothe other.

4. A device for suspending a door as claimed in claim 3, wherein saidactuating mechanism comprises a bar which has a polygonal or likesection and is rotatably mounted on said element, the arm of the toggledevice pivoted to said element being rigid with said bar.

5. A device for suspending a door as claimed in claim 3, said actuatingmechanism comprises a double-acting jack which has a control rod havingthe head mounted on the pivot pin of the toggle device.

6. A device for suspending a door as claimed in claim 1, wherein themount comprises a lower part adapted to be in contact with an abutmentmember secured to the upper edge of the door so as to transmit theforces directly to the door during closing movemenet.

7. An assembly comprising in combination a door, a wall relative towhich the door is rollable, and at least two suspension devices forsuspending the door from the wall, each of said devices comprising anelement Xed relative to the wall, a mount which is pivoted to saidelement by means of links so as to be movable in a direction parallel toitself in Such manner that all points thereof remain in a planeperpendicular to the plane of the wall, a door guide rail secured to themount, a toggle device interconnecting the element and the mount andhaving two stable positions on opposite sides of a dead-center position,a iirst stable position in which the door is applied against the wall ina closed position and a second stable position in which said toggledevice maintains the mount relative to the element in an operatingposition in which the door is rollable along the wall on the guide railand an actuating mechanism for shifting said toggle device from one ofsaid two stable positions to the other over said dead-center position,said toggle device having one arm pivoted to the element and another armpivoted to the mount and a pivot pin interconnecting the arms, the armpivoted to said element comprising an abutment face which is co-operablewith a corresponding abutment face on said element so as to maintain thetoggle device in said second stable position corresponding to thelocking of the pivotal connection, the arms of the toggle device whichare pivoted to said elements of the respective suspension devices beingmounted on a common bar to rotate with said bar, the rail being securedto the door by a connecting device comprising a irst member connected tothe door, a second member, rollers mounted on the second member andco-operating with the rail, and a device for interconnecting said twomembers and having a screw threaded rod, nuts and locknuts for adjustingthe position of the door in height relative to said wall.

S. An assembly comprising in combination a door, a wall relative towhich the door is rollable, and at least two suspension devices forsuspending the door from the Wall, each of said devices comprising anelement xed relative to the wall, a mount which is pivoted to saidelement by means of links so as to be movable in a direction parallel toitself in such manner that all points thereof remain in a planeperpendicular to the plane of the wall, a door guide rail secured to themount, a toggle device interconnecting the element and the mount andhaving two stable positions on opposite sides of a deadcenter position,a rst stable position in which the door is applied against the wall in aclc-sed position and a second stable position in which said toggledevice maintains the mount relative to the element in an operatingposition in which the door is rollable along the wall on the guide railand an actuating mechanism for shifting said toggle device from one ofsaid two stable positions to the other over said dead-center position,said toggle device having `one arm pivoted to the element and anotherarm pivoted to the mount and a pivot pin interconnecting the arms, thearm pivoted to said element comprising an abutment face which isco-operable with a corresponding abutment face on said element so as tomaintain the toggle device in said second stable position correspondingto the locking of the pivotal connection, the arms of the toggle devicewhich are pivoted to said elements of the respective suspension devicesbeing mounted on a common bar to rotate with said bar, the rail beingsecured to the door by a connecting device comprising a first memberconnected to the door, a second member, rollers mounted on the secondmember and co-operating with the rail.

9. An assembly as claimed in claim 8, comprising a lever device actuatedfrom within the enclosure closed by the door for raising the door andmoving it away from the Wall to within the neighborhood of thedeadcenter position of the toggle device, and an additional returndevice for causing said toggle device to pass through the dead-centerposition thereof and place the mount in the second stable position forrolling the door.

10. An assembly as claimed in claim 9, wherein the lever devicecomprises a vertical upright adapted to bear on the oor, linksconnecting the vertical upright to the door and an arm which is roughlyparallel to the links and pivoted to the door and to the upright.

11. An assembly as claimed in claim 9, wherein the return devicecomprises a torsion spring having one end connected to a member securedto the wall and the other end connected to the said bar.

12. An assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the links which connectthe upright to the door have roughly the same dimension and the sameposition as the links which connect the mount to said element, wherebythe door moves in a direction parallel to itself.

FOREIGN PATENTS 4/ 1965 Switzerland.

KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner.

